Today, someone on the phone (whom I don't know personally), made a reference to Stan - that I'VE NEVER HEARD BEFORE! (-; "Hey! Stan Getz! Nice bunch 'a guys!" *sigh*!! I can actually FEEL that comment coming... way before it's said! LOL!

The ironic part is that, in truth.... he really was "A NICE BUNCH OF GUYS"! OK.. there were a few fellas 'in the mix' that were maybe NOT so nice! I must admit that I also have a few 'Bev's' dwelling (Ooo scary word "dwelling"!) in me that I try to keep under lock and key! O-: Stanley was simply a NO BS kind of guy. The hard part was not knowing which one of those 'guys' you were going to meet, at any given moment! I learned fairly young, to read the body language and the eyes at a moments notice! To put it simply.., as the song goes.. "you gotta know when to hold and know when to fold"! But in all honesty, yes, he had his demons, but for the most part, he was always honest, direct - at times, painfully so! He also had the most generous and kind heart of anyone I've known. I know... I may be a tad prejudiced - but I can also look at Stan objectively. Stan the musician V Stan the Dad.

In any case... to get to my point here! To be honest, he wasn't all that crazy about that 'saying'. I doubt anyone would like to be known that way! He did however always have the ability to genuinely laugh at himself. So he was good natured about it. I'm sure he got tired of hearing it though, just as I do. But the best and funniest part of it is that it came from Zoot! Who possessed the DRIEST and BEST sense of humor ... EVER! Stan ADORED Zoot. He would tell Zoot stories and we would laugh til we cried!

Ahh! So nice to have a spot to place some of this STUFF! And that's my "memory" for the day!

Thanks so much for the insight Bev.
I guess with someone like me who idolizes those guys
I could not find anything wrong with them. They are
just human beings living to the fullest and with an
awesome talent. Their music is something to cherish.
Also we have to keep it alive. So many young people
nowdays don't know.

I had the extreme good fortune of hearing Stan in the NYC metro area quite a few times as a teenager/also in my young 20's - the Half Note, JVC/KOOL Jazz Fest, Highlights in Jazz, Central Park (remember when they used to have jazz throughout the summer in Central Park - Horace Silver, Stan, Buddy Rich, Hank Jones...). My dad would take me to these venues during that time and every time I saw Stan, he not only remembered me, but was happy to see us and a delight to talk to. One time at the Bottom Line I spoke with him regarding my frustration of where I was at musically (I was playing alto saxophone/clarinet at the time, dreaming of becoming a jazz musician). Stan shared with me that even he would hit a plateau from time to time and he encouraged me to keep at it. Sad to say, economics prevented me from doing so, but thanks to Stan and other kind and over-the-top talented musicians, I have a deep and passionate love for jazz.